| a diagnostic test that determines the exact numbers of each type of blood cell in a fixed quantity of blood. Abbreviation: CBC |
| complete blood count n. Abbr. CBC The determination of the quantity of each type of blood cell in a given sample of blood, often including the amount of hemoglobin, the hematocrit, and the proportions of various white cells. Also called blood profile. |
complete blood count n.
Abbr. CBC
A combination of totals from the red blood cell count, white blood cell count, erythrocyte indices, hematocrit, and differential blood count. Also called blood profile.
complete blood count  (kəm-plēt') Pronunciation Key
A count performed as a diagnostic laboratory test, indicating the red blood cell count and the white blood cell count in one microliter of whole blood and other quantitative information about blood composition, such as cell volume, hematocrit, and hemoglobin content. This information is used in the diagnosis of anemia, infections, and other medical disorders. |
complete blood count
laboratory test that determines the number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and white blood cells (leukocytes) in a given volume of blood. The readings vary with sex, age, physiological state, and general health, but the blood of a normal individual contains on average 5,000,000 red cells and 7,000 white cells per cubic millimetre. A differential blood count is the percentage of each type of white blood cell per 100 white cells counted; the white cells of a normal adult are about 55 percent neutrophils, 30 percent lymphocytes, and small percentages of eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes. A decrease in the number of red blood cells is usually associated with anemia, and an increase or decrease in the number of white blood cells can occur with infections, inflammatory conditions, or leukemia. A blood count may also include a determination of the number of platelets, the volume by percent of red blood cells in whole blood (known as a hematocrit), the sedimentation rate of the red blood cells, the hemoglobin concentration of the red cells, and the average size of the red cells
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